Italian Buttercream Frosting
Italian Buttercream Frosting
I LOVE this frosting!
It’s so wonderfully rich and creamy.
It’s not an overly sweet frosting, which I really like.
I’ve made a few batches trying to find the combination I liked best.
I found recipes on Food.com, all recipes, and King Arthur Flour.
I found many tips on making it and made many batches until I got it just the way I liked it.
Bring sugar syrup to 240 degrees
mix egg whites with cream of tartar
whip egg whites until stiff
Adding the butter in small pieces helps it blend together well.
Ice packs on the motor of the Kitchen-aid Mixer help keep the motor cool, while you are mixing it for 8-10 minutes. You will hear it come together. (could take a little longer depending on temperature of ingredients)
It’s getting there!
This is what it looks like when the butter is being added.
Finished Italian Buttercream Frosting, smooth and creamy.
Italian Buttercream Frosting is my favorite recipe, I just LOVE the way it tastes.
Very similar is Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting, which I think is a little easier to make, so you can choose which method you prefer…
And I also have a Chocolate Swiss Meringue Frosting Recipe.
Be sure to check out my post on how to frost roses here.
Italian Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cups water
- 6 egg whites
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/4 pounds butter cubed (unsalted)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Heat granulated sugar and water in a saucepan until it reaches 245 degrees.
- While the syrup is heating, mix egg whites on low until foamy with a whisk attachment.
- Add cream of tarter then mix on medium to high until stiff.
- Pour hot syrup in a slow stream into egg whites while the mixer is on high.
- Beat for 8 minutes or until the mixture is cool.
- To help the mixer's motor stay cool and prevent overheating place an ice pack on top of the motor and wrap ice packs around the sides of the bowl. You can tie them on with a thin dish towel.
- Keep butter in the fridge until this point.
- Remove the whisk attachment and put the paddle attachment on the mixer.
- Add vanilla and butter in small cubes a bit at a time.
- Beat until all butter is combined.
- If it looks like it's separating or curdled or soupy looking, keep beating and keep the bowl cold if needed. The frosting will come together as long as you don't add the butter while the syrup/egg mixture is warmer than room temperature.
- The frosting will be smooth and creamy.
This looks to be a fairly decent recipe. Others I’ve seen have used shortening — blech! I wanted to make mention that packing the bottom of the bowl in ice will not cool the motor of a KitchenAid stand mixer. The motor housing is in the top arm of the machine. Cooling the bowl whilst pouring in the sugar syrup may bring the temperature down too quickly to heat the egg whites enough to keep them from growing bacteria.
Hi, I’m making a raspberry lemon buttercream cake, however i want to use this buttercream recipe, at what point would i add lemon to the cream to give it a slight lemon flavor?
Also, when you switch to a paddle mixer instead of the beaters could i do that by hand or should i buy a different attachment.
Thanks for your help!
If you don’t have the paddle, just use the beaters. I would not mix by hand, it would be very tiring. I would add lemon extract to the mixture at the end of mixing. 1-2 teaspoons. You could try adding fresh lemon juice, but be careful and test a small amount first. fresh lemon juice may curdle the mixture, as this is a softer textured buttercream, than traditional. I’d personally use lemon extract.
I made this and it’s very yummy but what would happen if you use half the butter? Almost to much for us for our liking.
I haven’t made it with half the butter. I’m not sure it would come together properly. Meaning the batter will have too much liquid and egg whites for it to be smooth, creamy and able to frost a cake/cupcake. You may prefer traditional buttercream frosting, you can find my recipe for Buttercream Frosting here https://www.createdby-diane.com/2010/08/video-how-to-frost-a-rose-on-a-cupcake-in-20-seconds.html
Italian buttercream has a smooth and creamy buttery taste, if you prefer a less buttery more sugary frosting I would recommend a more traditional buttercream frosting.
If you simply prefer it sweeter, you can add more sugar to the Italian Buttercream recipe and alternatively use salted butter to give it a sweet and savory taste.